"Kori?" Hikari said. A bit too loud for the hour.
The door opened. Kori came through first - coffee in one hand, the other holding the door for Alteea behind her. She took in the room in two seconds: Raizen at the bench with his hands in the prototype, Hikari standing close to him with new stars in her ears, a line embedded in the foam backstop on the far wall, a bandage on Raizen's hand with blood still spotting through, and a general sense of a lab that should have been empty four hours ago.
Alteea followed. Long coat, collar turned up, her hair still pinned from whatever she'd been doing before this. Her eyes went to the prototype first. Then to Hikari. Then back to the prototype.
"Well" Alteea said. "Either I've walked in on a date or a safety violation. Either way - I'm interested."
Hikari's face went slightly pink. "Neither."
